Even though it is a tad bloated, fortunately Into Darkness has enough touches of ingenuity from Abrams – Trekkie references, comedic touches, action set-pieces, emotional moments – to make this sequel efficiently likeable.

One could argue it probably doesn’t evolve into the breathtaking five-star spectacle that it could have been – but if Abrams makes this kind of progress with Star Wars then the new sequel trilogy is undoubtedly in good hands.

Into Darkness is ‘one small step’ instead of ‘one giant leap’ – but he has boldly taken this popular series to the next level with his expert guidance.